Portland Street Response Program Now Citywide, Officials Announce

PORTLAND, OR — The Portland Street Response program is now citywide, officials said Monday. The program, which sends teams of paramedics and mental health experts to respond to calls, is meant to take some of the pressure off of the understaffed Police Bureau.

The program currently operates from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week. Officials say that they hope to eventually expand the program so that it operates around the clock.

Portland Street Response started last covering the 4-square-mile Lents neighborhood and then expanded in November to cover 36 square miles. The newexpansion means it covers all of the city's 145 square miles.

"Sending the right responders to the right calls with the right training is the best way to meet the needs of those who are suffering on our streets," Mayor Ted Wheeler said at the news conference on Monday announcing the expansion.

Portland Fire & Rescue oversees the program, part of the plan to show that when Street Response personnel respond, they are not police officers. The Street Response teams do not respond to calls where a person is armed or when they are in a dangerous location such as in traffic.

"We want to help people and meet them where they are immediately and with the tools that they need," Program Manager Robyn Burek said.

"This expansion means that all Portland can benefit from this innovative program."